Researchers say the project has the potential to convert wave motion into energy.

The project would employ a submerged, flexible surface that would rock with the motion of the ocean waves, pressing down on a series of piston-pumps that would send a compressed column of water to the shore, where it could be converted into electricity.

One hundred square meters of undersea carpet has the potential to provide as much energy, said Mechanical and Ocean Engineering Professor Reza Alam, as a soccer field full of solar arrays.